Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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The Summerland Advocate-Messenger, along with other newspapers across the state, will celebrate community journalism during the first-ever Community Newspaper Week, June 26 - 30. Gov. Jim Pillen made the proclamation in April, during Nebraska Press Association's annual get-together in Lincoln. Pillen's proclamation recognizes the historical record provided by newspapers, as well as a newspaper's responsibility to serve as a watchdog, promoting transparency and its role as an economic...
So, this is prison reform? At this point, it's something and we'll cling to every little bit of it while the Republican majority anticipates the building of a new prison, which will do little, if anything, to alleviate overcrowding An omnibus bill sponsored by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne and signed into law by Governor Jim Pillen creates several programs intended to improve the state's criminal justice system, including a program to expand problem-solving courts, a pilot program to establish parole-...
Amid nasty debate about social issues, filibustering and theater playing out in the legislative chamber, lawmakers did manage to meet their constitutional obligation and pass a balanced budget on day 80 of the 90-day session. The two-year budget calls for about $5.3 billion a year in spending, with an average increase of 2.2%. It sets aside a generous amount for cuts in state income taxes and increases in tax credits for property taxes, as well as allocating the final funds for a $366 million...
On May 26, Governor Jim Pillen announced the appointment of Brigadier General Craig Strong to become the 34th adjutant general of the Nebraska Military Department, which includes the Air National Guard, Army National Guard and the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency. Strong will take over for Major General Daryl Bohac, who plans to retire in July, after serving as adjutant general since 2013. "Brigadier General Strong is a man of courage, integrity and honor who has the experience necessary to...
As the days in the George W. Norris Legislative Chamber dwindle down to a precious few, the Republican majority continues to trip over each other patting themselves on the back while the Democrats dig their trenches a little deeper and promise to give the home folks one to remember. There are still 32 Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Legislature and they are a mostly conservative lot. The Democrats are down to 16 with the recent defection of Omaha Sen. Meghan Hunt, who now identifies...
It seems way too easy a solution to a problem that has plagued the Legislature for years, school funding. But lawmakers have advanced Governor Jim Pillen's proposal for the state to pay public school districts $1,500 in foundation aid per student beginning with school fiscal year 2023-24. The measure - LB583 - would also increase state aid to school districts to help cover their special education expenses. It's all part of a larger package that includes income tax cuts, property tax relief and...
A Nebraska family has plowed more than $1.6 million into the Lincoln mayor's race, an unprecedented sum and latest burst in a multi-year deluge that, at the federal level, rivals the political spending by a famed Las Vegas casino magnate and a Silicon Valley titan. It's not the Nebraska family you think. It's the Peed family and its business, Sandhills Global – not the Ricketts family – that have eclipsed all other donors while trying to help former State Sen. Suzanne Geist, a Republican, ous...
The Legislature's Appropriations Committee has signed off on providing the funds to build a $366 million prison in the Lincoln-Omaha area just as the Department of Corrections brings on a new director who appears to favor programming and investing in the humanity of the incarcerated. That brings some hope to a small but fierce band of senators who don't think building is the best way out of the problem for the nation's most overcrowded prison system. The money is a big part of the budget which...
Using a laptop at her farm near Clatonia, and some help from the state’s public power districts, a rural broadband advocate has uncovered oversights that may brings millions of extra federal dollars to Nebraska to expand high-speed internet service. Emily Haxby, who also serves on the Gage County Board, said she started doubting the accuracy of federal maps showing areas that were “unserved” by broadband. Just in her own rural neighborhood, Haxby said, she could tell there were at least a dozen rural homes, machine shops and other locat...
Antelope and Holt counties are two of the 55 Nebraska counties designated as primary natural disaster areas, due to a recent drought. United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack notified Gov. Jim Pillen of the designation, March 31. Based on the U.S. Drought Monitor data, counties included in the designation either suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season for eight or more consecutive weeks or fell into extreme or exceptional drought categories....
Where is the governor and what is he doing? We probably shouldn't be surprised that stealth candidate Jim Pillen, who refused to debate and was elected governor anyway, hasn't been releasing information about his public schedule. No schedules, nor press releases, little or no comment about issues. A staff that is tight-lipped and covers for him. The way it's going, the Columbus pig farmer could be spending his days running Pillen Family Farms and showing up at the state Capitol from time to...
We are now past the one-third mark of this 90-day legislative session but still have a great deal of work to do. The various standing committees are busy holding public hearings on the 820 bills and 22 substantive resolutions that were introduced in January. We have around four more weeks of hearings yet to go. Thus far, two of my bills have been presented before committees. The week began with Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican delivering the State of the Judiciary address...
His predecessor spent eight years pushing property tax relief. Now, Governor Jim Pillen wants to clearly tie said property tax relief to school finance. It's up to the Legislature to figure out how to make that work. Lawmakers are used to people complaining about property taxes. Now, throw in some school districts that say a proposed distribution of state aid isn't fair and equitable. What do you have? A real mess or a problem begging for a solution? Pillen is behind three priority measures...
“They’re trying to build a prison They’re trying to build a prison For you and me to live in Another prison system Another prison system For you and me.” --The Prison Song by System of a Down (2001) To the surprise of none and the consternation of many, me included, a new report says that before 2030, Nebraska will need another 1,500 prison beds, even after building a $350-million, 1,500-bed replacement for the aging State Penitentiary in Lincoln. We have been expecting the facility master plan for the Nebraska Department of Correct...
On Wednesday, Jan. 25, Gov.Jim Pillen delivered his first State of the State address to the Legislature. The beginning of his speech focused on his team’s transition since the November general election and the strong state of Nebraska today. He emphasized how our state’s greatest asset - people - continually show perseverance, grit and determination to solve tough problems and overcome difficult obstacles. Although the state is strong and growing, Pillen argued more needs to be done to ret...
The new governor says his proposed tax cuts are historic. Critics say they are not sustainable. Rookie mistake by the pig farmer politician who is backed by his Republican party and most of the 32 Republicans in the Nebraska Legislature. Maybe it’s all of them, I haven’t taken a poll. Somebody forgot to explain to Governor Jim Pillen that the $1.9 billion excess funds he claims will make all this work are “projected” to be in the state coffers. That means the so-called strong tax receipt...
As Justin Taubenheim combined soybeans in a Buffalo County field on an October afternoon, he thought about why he does it. "I'm not farming to get rich,” he said. “I'm farming to maintain a legacy, a way of life. Faith, family and farming, in that order. The farm is kinda like the icing on the cake." Taubenheim, 31, sports fewer gray hairs than your normal Nebraska farmer. The average age of a principal Nebraska farm or ranch operator: 56.4 years old, according to census figures. The rising worry: There won’t be a next generation to carry...
I'd like to introduce myself. I am Senator Barry DeKay, newly elected to represent District 40 in the Nebraska Legislature. District 40 consists of Antelope, Cedar, Dixon, Holt, Knox and Pierce counties. I am a lifelong resident of rural Niobrara, a fourth-generation rancher and a longtime high school basketball referee. My wife Brenda and I have two children. I am honored to serve the residents of northeast Nebraska in the Legislature. The 108th Legislature began Jan. 4. Thirteen newly-elected...
Governor Jim Pillen, in accordance with a request from the White House, announced Monday that all U.S. and Nebraska flags are to be flown at half-staff immediately to honor the victims of the deadly shooting in Monterey Park, California. Flags are to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Thursday, January 26....
There’s been a lot of talk about preserving the officially nonpartisan nature of the Nebraska Legislature. But there is another issue, occasionally discussed with similar zeal in years past, that’s creeping up again. (Gasp!) It’s the urban-rural split. While the focus has been on party loyalty – there are 32 Republicans and 17 Democrats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature – there are also 26 “urban” lawmakers (18 from Omaha and 8 from Lincoln) to just 23 “rural” senators. That reflects the shift of two rural districts, 49 and 36) to the O...
Welcome to 2023, a new year with a whole lotta new going on at the State Capitol. There’s a new governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor and 14 new state senators assuming leadership roles in the Republican-dominated Nebraska government. There will be a new U.S. senator from Nebraska to be appointed by the new governor. There are 33 Republicans and 16 Democrats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. So, what does this mean to you and me? A new year marks a great chance to move one year further away from the Covid pandemic l...
Here we are sandwiched between Christmas and New Year. Time to take stock of what we've been through as it impacts what lies ahead. In case you were somehow fortunate enough to sleep through it, 2022 was an election year. A couple really rich guys and some others ran for the Republican nomination for governor to replace term-limited Deep Pockets Pete Ricketts who still managed to throw enough money around to have an influence. Before you get all upset by that, remember that I have said before it isn’t illegal to spend his own money or the f...
There’s an acronym that has been stirring things up in government for the last 30-plus years. It’s called TEEOSA and the mere mention of its name sends senators to consult with staff, lobbyists to check their wallets and school administrators to check with their budget gurus. Since it was passed in 1990, the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act has been revamped, revised, retooled, debated and forgotten. Gov.-elect Jim Pillen calls it “our antiquated school aid formula” and has...
Two initiative measures - one requiring photographic identification, one increasing minimum wage - were passed by Nebraska voters during the Nov. 8 General Election. Initiative 432 amends Nebraska's constitution, to require voters to "present valid photographic identification" prior to voting. Nebraska's Legislature will hammer out the details, according to language in the measure. Voters also approved Initiative 433, which will gradually raise the state's minimum wage from the current rate of...
Nebraska voters looking beyond the two major political parties and a Libertarian could have a fourth choice on November's general election ballot for governor. Long-odds candidate David Wright of Ewing is trying to get on - as a nonpartisan candidate. Wright, a former Republican who has re-registered as a nonpartisan, should hear next week if he turned in enough valid signatures to petition onto the fall ballot. Wright spoke at a Kearney event organized, in July by the Nebraska Freedom...
